Easy to browse glycemic index list

Chances are you have heard of the glycemic index (GI) before, especially if you take an interest in the food items you consume and how they affect your body and performance. In short, the glycemic index provides a measure of how much a particular food or drink affects blood sugar and insulin levels.

The GI is measured on a scale, with 100 being the glycemic index of glucose.

An item such as Lucozade®, with a GI of 95, causes blood sugar to sharply rise as the carbohydrates breakdown very quickly during digestion. In comparison, peanuts only score 7 indicating they have less of an impact on blood sugar and insulin.

Within our list you’ll also find the glycemic load (GL) of an item.

To explain - while the glycemic index measures the “quality” of the carbohydrate and how it will affect blood sugar; the glycemic load takes into the account both the GI of the food item and the amount of carbohydrate per serving. The glycemic load therefore offers a better understanding of how a typical serving (or whole meal) will impact blood sugar and insulin levels.

To illustrate the difference, a watermelon has a GI of 72 (high) yet only a glycemic load of 4 (low). While the carbohydrates in watermelon are quickly absorbed and spike sugar levels (hence the high GI), there isn’t a sufficient amount of carbohydrates in a typical watermelon serving for it to have much impact on blood sugar (hence the low GL).

Note: Our list doesn’t contain much in the way of meat or fish products – this is because only items which contain carbohydrates are included in the glycemic index.